


A New World's Dawning

by estelraca



Category: Kamen Rider Decade
Genre: Domestic negotiations, Multi, Non-binary Onodera Yuusuke, OT4 are all AFAB, Post-Canon, Rule 63, Vigilante Justice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27276031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estelraca/pseuds/estelraca
Summary: They've been traveling for a decade, and Tsukasa loves it dearly.  But maybe, possibly, it's time for them to actually talk about what they want to do.  Before she's ready to do that, Tsukasa takes some of her uncertainty out on people who deserve it.
Relationships: Hikari Natsumi/Kadoya Tsukasa/Kaitou Daiki/Onodera Yuusuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	A New World's Dawning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jen425](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/gifts).



> Warning for sexism and sexist comments. I love writing female versions of these characters; thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to do so! I hope you enjoy this.

_A New World's Dawning_

Tsukasa steps out of the photo studio and into a world not terribly different from her own—well, from Natsumi's, but that's the one she's claimed as her own homeworld for the last decade. Not that they actually spend much time there. Natsumi's connections with her friends from her homeworld haven't broken with time and experience, but they have become more... frayed isn't quite the right word. Supple? Opaque?

There are secrets they keep, because to tell them would be to be labeled a liar or to otherwise find themselves targeted by those they don't want to have to deal with. So they say that they're traveling, but they don't say that they're traveling in a photo studio that slips between worlds as easily as Tsukasa herself does.

They say that they've been through some things, but they don't say that Kaitou ended up covered in burns from a treasure hunt gone wrong, or that Yuusuke was practically eviscerated by a monster four worlds ago, or that Tsukasa took a blow to the head that shook loose the last decade of her being a half-decent human being and left her the erstwhile ruler of the multiverse again.

Hopefully this will be a gentler world. Hopefully this will be a world where they can have an adventure, maybe help someone who deserves it, _definitely_ kick someone in the head who deserves it, and then move on without any more scars or traumas.

Tsukasa kicks a stone out of her way as she slips off the main street and into a quieter side alley, watching the types of businesses surrounding her shift from restaurants and other family-oriented conveniences to pachinko parlors and niche entertainment venues. She's not in dangerous back alleys or anything—not that those can be considered dangerous, not really, not to her—but it is interesting how just a few meters of motion, a block's shift one way or another, can change the feel of an area dramatically.

Natsumi hadn't been upset after their last trip home. When she met up with her friends, dragging Tsukasa along so Tsukasa 'wouldn't get into trouble', there had been smiles and a cheerful joviality. But two of her three friends had children with them. The third kept checking her phone due to a potential work emergency looming. The conversation had trailed off frequently, not in a harsh way, just in a way that indicated there was little the friends had in common anymore.

Even talking about the latest television shows was beyond Natsumi's ability, because though echoes of shows would show up through the multiverse, it was impossible to tell exactly what was true in one specific world without looking into it. And they hadn't bothered to look into it.

When they all parted, heading back to their own lives, everyone had said they should do it again. But Tsukasa had heard the undercurrent of hesitation, seen the way smiles flickered to reveal either sadness or boredom, and doubted it would actually happen.

Talking to Natsumi about it hadn't been possible, though. Tsukasa had _tried_ , had done what she didn't normally do and attempted to reach out, but Natsumi had just shrugged and said that it wasn't that big a deal. That they should go home.

Natsumi's had been the first hand to grasp the chains of the photo backdrops, eager to send them back on their journey.

And now Tsukasa was moping in Natsumi's place, which was stupid.

Just like it was stupid that she was prowling through these unfamiliar streets, heading deeper and deeper into the darker parts of town. She didn't know this city, not really, but she had seen cities like this before. She had seen _lots_ of cities over the years. She could have _conquered_ lots of cities, if she wanted to. If it wouldn't make Yuusuke look at her with that sad, determined expression, or make Natsumi yell at her for being a selfish idiot, or Kaitou sneer at her that of course what they had wasn't enough.

It was enough for Tsukasa.

The photo studio and the four people inside it were enough family for anyone. Sure, Tsukasa still liked getting to go see her little sister every once in a while, but she was _content_ in the photo studio. She would happily spend the rest of her life curled up within those walls. Well, _sleeping_ within those walls—she liked venturing out into other worlds too much to give that up. But she wouldn't need to travel as much as Yuusuke and Kaitou did, would be happy to spend a lot more time than she does lazing about on the couch, and—

Someone wolf whistles, and Tsukasa feels her lips curl up into a feral smile. _Finally_. She was beginning to think this world didn't have any creeps in it. Which would probably mean they would have to go searching for whatever monster was mind-controlling or threatening people out of being dicks to each other, and that would make Yuusuke sad. She still hated anything that even smelled of mind control.

“Look at this pretty thing.” The man who comes up behind her is tall, but so is Tsukasa. It means when she turns she can look right into his face. He leers at her, running his tongue over his lips. “A little bit tall, a little bit old, bu—”

“Excuse me?” Tsukasa steps forward, her eyes narrowing. “ _Who_ is old now?”

The man blinks, clearly taken off guard. “I mean—you just look like you're over twenty, you know?”

She's thirty-two, give or take—DaiShocker hadn't kept the most meticulous records if it wasn't related to her power—but that's neither here nor there. “I am _not_ old. I'm in my prime.”

Two other men have come up on either side of her, but she doesn't care. This is what she went searching for, and she's glad to have found it.

The first man gathers himself, anger flushing his face and helping him to shake off his uneasiness at Tsukasa's refusal to act like proper prey. “You think you're a punk, huh? Gonna spit _ore_ at me and walk around in our territory all high and mighty?”

Tsukasa can't quite help rolling her eyes. “I learned how to use _ore_ from people way bigger and stronger than you who weren't afraid of a girl talking how she wanted. You could have learned a lot from them about how to be a real threat and not just a pathetic little baby who's afraid of someone with longer hair and better clothes than him.”

The man's eyes widen, and Tsukasa can see him processing, trying to figure out if she really said what he just heard.

It's one of his friends that throws the first punch. Tsukasa had been ready for it, and she dodges out of the way, reaching out to grab his arm and pulling him in so that he's between her and the first man when the first finally shakes out of his stupor and strikes.

Fighting them without Decade's armor isn't easy, but it's satisfying and it's fun, like a training exercise she would have been given when she was a teenager. She hooks one leg behind the taller first man's, pulling him off-balance and sending him staggering into one of his friends. A sweeping kick connects solidly with the chin of the second man, and she smiles fiercely as blood flies. She chose her boots to look good, do maximum damage, and grip properly when she's on her motorcycle. Looks like she chose well.

The fight is over before three minutes have passed. All three of her assailants are groaning on the ground. Tsukasa picks the first one out, moving over and kicking him hard in the side to flip him so that he's facing upward.

He stares at her, squinting against the light of a streetlight that must halo her.

She drops onto his stomach a little bit harder than she needed to, driving the wind out of him without doing any actual damage. Making sure he'll sit still and _listen_ , because this hasn't _just_ been a game of fun for her. “Did this go the way you wanted it to?”

The man gasps, but he doesn't have enough air to voice any of the insults she can see his lips forming.

Tsukasa draws a breath and sighs. “It takes so _much_ to get through to some people. I don't really have the time or energy to waste on you right now, so how about this. The lesson I want you to learn is that you should never, ever assume someone is helpless, no matter where they are, what they're doing, or what you assume their gender is. If you do, someone like me will make you pay.” She leans over, staring into his eyes. “Be nice. If you're nice, you'll meet people like my friend Yuusuke, and you'll get to see a smile that's worth divinity. If you're _not_ nice, you'll find me there in the shadows, and I'll kick your ass again.”

The man still doesn't seem convinced. He grabs at a pocket with one hand, probably going for a weapon.

Tsukasa grabs that wrist, twisting painfully. Then she reaches behind her, grabbing the man by the crotch. “Say you understand, or I'll really make sure you don't forget me.”

The man's eyes go wide, and he whimpers out something that is probably an acquiescence.

Tsukasa releases the man's dick, giving it a pat. She keeps his wrist. Getting knifed in the side now would be stupid, and Kaitou would never let her live it down. “I won't hurt you if you listen. But you really don't have much to be proud of. Yuusuke has a better dick, and she bought it six months ago.”

The fight seems to go out of the man as confusion fills his face, and Tsukasa gives his cheek one light slap before letting him go and standing up.

She feels better. It might be silly and pointless, finding some of the small monsters in the shadows and making them regret their decisions—making them realize that they _are_ small, no matter how deep the shadows—but it pretty much inevitably leaves her in a better mood. Helps her think. Helps her figure out what she _wants_.

And right now that's to know what everyone _else_ wants.

It's late enough that dinner is probably going to be served soon, assuming no one has gotten caught up in too much drama. They can always save this world later.

Everyone else is just settling around the table when Tsukasa comes into the kitchen. Kaitou throws her a scornful look, then re-evaluates and tilts her head.

Tsukasa looks down at herself. Ah, yeah, she got blood on the hem of her pants. None of it _hers_ , but it still shows she was out having adventures.

Yuusuke smiles at her and then frowns, clearly having spotted the blood too. “What kind of trouble?”

“Nothing important.” Tsukasa saunters over to the table and settles down at her seat, waiting for Eijiro to set a bowl in front of her. “Just getting a feel for our new world.”

Natsumi sighs. “Have you ever met a jerk in an alley that you _didn't_ feel the need to teach a lesson to?”

Tsukasa thinks and then shrugs. “If I were tired enough I might be tempted to just kill them. Otherwise... no, not really.”

Yuusuke rolls her eyes. “You can't just kill people. And we know you know that, so let's move on. _Why_ did you disappear to go beat up strangers?”

“ _They_ tried to beat _me_ up first.” Tsukasa affects a wounded look. “For stupid reasons, as per usual. Plus they called me old.”

Kaitou laughs, her chuckle filling the kitchen. “The _real_ crime they committed.”

Tsukasa throws a roll at Kaitou. Since she catches it and immediately takes a bite out of it the action is less satisfying than it should be.

“I was just thinking.” Tsukasa picks up another roll, eyeing Kaitou and waiting for her to say something stupid.

Kaitou just takes another big bite out of the roll she already caught.

“About...” Tsukasa can feel her brows furrowing. She isn't used to being the one who does this, who brings up important topics. This is Natsumi or Yuusuke's thing, but neither of them is stepping in to save her. Well, this can't be harder than either attempting to take over the multiverse or attempting to save it. She can do this. “What we want to do. With us. And the studio. If we want to keep traveling, or... not. Or change how we travel. Or... well, you know.”

There's absolute silence, and Eijiro announces he has to go check something in the front room, excusing himself from the conversation.

Tsukasa watches him go, wondering if it will be possible to extricate _herself_ from this conversation as easily.

Yuusuke sets her spoon down. “What exactly brought this on?”

Tsukasa opens her mouth to answer but can't figure out how to explain it.

Natsumi sighs. “I did. When we visited my world, I went to see my friends. And things were... awkward. We had drifted apart, and their lives weren't anything like mine.”

“Of course not.” Kaitou snorts. “Your life is better.”

“My life is _bigger_.” Natsumi makes the correction quietly. “And I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. We're doing good, wandering around out here as itinerant Riders. How many worlds have we helped save? Have many people have we helped?”

Tsukasa doesn't know. She doesn't usually keep track. She just... moves, taking each new world that they travel to on its own merits. When they go back and see people they helped save, it can be kind of fun—she's still fond of little Wataru, even if he's a full-grown man now.

“Then there's no problem.” Kaitou takes another bite of her roll and then tosses it back at Tsukasa.

Tsukasa catches it and returns it, not missing a beat.

Kaitou scrambles to catch the bit of bread, almost fumbling it into her soup.

“I like the traveling, too.” Yuusuke has both her hands palm-down on the table. “And the good we're doing. But we could also... slow down, if people wanted. Choose a world as our base.”

“And what?” Kaitou stares around at them. “Have jobs? Have kids?”

Natsumi laughs, looking fondly from Kaitou to Tsukasa. “I cannot see the two of you possibly holding down a job.”

Yuusuke joins in the laughter. “Not sure I can, either. But I wouldn't mind having kids, if the rest of you didn't mind.”

There's a beat of silence, and Tsukasa finds herself staring at Yuusuke, certain that the others are, too.

Yuusuke shifts uncomfortably. “What?”

“You never said...” Kaitou looks affronted. “If you wanted kids, you never said!”

“No one ever asked! And it's not like we're ancient or anything.” Yuusuke glares right back at Kaitou. “Plus with everything the amadam's done to my body, who knows if I can even have kids? Or I might be able to have kids when I'm a century old! Who knows. There's plenty of time to figure it out.”

Kaitou stands up, beginning to pace around their dining table. Tsukasa suspects that if it were her or Natsumi who had said they wanted to have kids, Kaitou already would have bolted, but with Yuusuke... with Yuusuke they all tend to have more patience, because Yuusuke has more than earned it.

Yuusuke still looks puzzled at the strength of the reaction. “I really don't think it's that big a deal.”

“It would just...” Natsumi blows hair out of her eyes. “It would be a change.”

“Only if we want it. Look, I didn't announce that I'm pregnant and we're going to have twins around here in a month or something. I just said _if everyone else_ was comfortable with it I wouldn't mind slowing down and having kids at some point.” Yuusuke stands, putting herself in Kaitou's path. “ _Slowing down_ , not stopping. I think there's only one other person in this household more invested in the actual _travel_ than I am.”

Kaitou hesitates and then pulls Yuusuke into a tight embrace. “We just want you to be _happy_ , stupid.”

“Which I am. Right here, right now.” Yuusuke hugs Kaitou back just as tightly. “It's just figuring out if we want to stay _this_ type of happy or try something else out.”

“If it's not something we like...” Natsumi speaks slowly, obviously thinking through her sentences as she speaks them. “I mean, if we _did_ decide to have kids, we can't just decide it was a bad idea and drop them off somewhere.”

“Well... we _could_.” Yuusuke shrugs. “It wouldn't be a kind thing to do, but there is adoption. And we know a lot of people in a lot of different worlds. If it's just a matter of 'we need to go save a world and we need a babysitter', we could always have Takeshi watch them in Hibiki's world, or some of our other friends. We do _have_ them, you know, even if they're not the most normal. Heck, I bet the Godai siblings would love seeing us with kids.”

There's just a bare hint of sadness in Yuusuke's voice, as there always is when she talks about her not-siblings from a world that is-and-isn't like hers.

Kaitou buries her head on Yuusuke's shoulder. “Assuming the rest of us agreed, wouldn't it be hard for you to be pregnant with your whole sometimes-a-girl, sometimes-a-boy thing?”

“I don't know. I think I'd be all right with it, but it would be...” Yuusuke buries her fingers in Kaitou's hair. “It would be new, and different, and I haven't thought about it that intently because I didn't think anyone else was ready for this conversation yet.”

“It's not that we're not ready for stuff.” Tsukasa tilts her chair back, studying Yuusuke and Kaitou. “I just... I mean, I _know_ about these things. I'm not an idiot, I see how the world works for most people. But I don't... my life hasn't been...”

Natsumi reaches out to take Tsukasa's hand. “None of us have had particularly _normal_ lives, but yours was particularly _weird_. It's all right.”

“Yeah, everyone has that one friend who tried to take over the multiverse instead of going to college.” Kaitou disentangles herself from Yuusuke and moves back to her seat. She takes a few bites of dinner before clearing her throat. “If anyone _does_ want to talk about having kids... I mean... there are four of us, but none of us are really _equipped_ to deal with half the process.”

“We have friends.” Yuusuke shrugs. “We even have an alternate version of me who's pretty open minded about a lot of stuff.”

Natsumi makes a face. “No. At least... I don't like the thought of any of us sleeping with someone else.”

Tsukasa straightens. “Agreed. You all belong to _me_.”

This time it's Tsukasa's turn to catch the bread thrown at her head by Kaitou.

Yuusuke buries her face against her hands, slouching down so she's puddled on the table. “We are not talking about the mechanics of this at the dinner table.”

“If we don't we'll just do it when half of us are tied to chairs.” Tsukasa takes a bite of the roll, lifting her eyebrows suggestively.

Yuusuke straightens. “All right, if we're doing this, then there are plenty of methods that don't actually involve having sex with someone else. Some that would need a doctor's help, and some that wouldn't.”

Natsumi tilts her head. “How do you know?”

“I actually know a fair bit about medical stuff.” Yuusuke's hand curls protectively in front of her stomach—in front of the amadam. “I've been trying to figure out my own biology as well as I can, and it means I've learned a lot of other things.”

Silence descends on the table, all of them eating and thinking.

Tsukasa is the one who breaks it first. “So... we ask about who'd be willing to help, if we wanted to settle down a little more. Not settle down all the way, just... you know...”

Kaitou nods. “And then if we have people who would want to help... we discuss it more?”

Natsumi is staring across the table at them in disbelief.

“What?” Tsukasa pokes her with one foot under the table.

“You and Kaitou just had a mature, reasonable conversation about an adult topic.” Natsumi turns to Yuusuke. “Am I dreaming?”

Kaitou grabs another roll to throw at Natsumi, leaving the bowl in the center of the table empty. “It's for Yuusuke.”

“Oh, and if it was for _me_?” One of Natsumi's eyebrows arches into her hairline.

It is for Natsumi, too. Not because she necessarily wants what her friends have, but because Natsumi, too, is aware of what they don't have. _Misses_ , in some way, what they've turned away from. Kaitou might, too, if she wasn't so determined to run away from her past still. One day, maybe, they'll convince Kaitou to run _towards_ something, but at least they've convinced her to at least run _with_ them now, and that's been a hard-fought victory over the last decade. Tsukasa nudges Natsumi more gently with her foot. “I take care of my people.”

There's another silence, deep with all that they've done, all the choices they've made.

Eijiro breaks it by coming up to the table, a plate of frosted cookies in hand. “Dessert?”

Yuusuke jumps up, reaching for the cookies. Kaitou does the same, and the two fight like children to grab the first one.

Tsukasa stands more slowly, using the distraction of the other two to choose her favorite.

Natsumi's arms slip around her waist, and Tsukasa turns. After a moment's consideration she offers a bite of her cookie.

Natsumi nibbles a small piece, smiling as she does. “You know I'm perfectly happy traveling like we have been.”

“I know.” Tsukasa takes a bigger bite. “But if we can make everyone _better_ than perfectly happy...”

Natsumi laughs, letting Tsukasa go to grab her own cookie.

Tsukasa slips her foot between Kaitou's, tripping her so that Yuusuke wins their contest.

They're not a normal family. Tsukasa wouldn't _want_ them to be a normal family. But anything they want, anything that can make them happy... she would say she'd burn the worlds down for them, but she knows it's the opposite that they want.

So she'll learn. She'll talk. She'll think about what else she can give them, what else they might want.

And together they'll keep traveling into a future that looks brighter and brighter with each new world's dawn.


End file.
